Trash bin rules may change in Mendocino County

People who live in the county's unincorporated areas may soon have more flexibility over where their trash bins can stay, if the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approves proposed changes at its July 30 meeting.

County code on curbside garbage pickup, written in 1994, says garbage customers in the county areas outside city borders can't bring their trash containers out to the road more than 12 hours before pickup or leave them there more than 12 hours afterward, according to Mike Sweeney, general manager at the Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority.

The new language would "specify that you can't leave the container in the same place, assuming it's at the edge of the right-of-way," Sweeney said. It would also give Sweeney more leeway on how to deal with violations as they crop up, he said.

Currently, he issues the customer a notice when complaints arise. If the customer still doesn't comply, the hauler removes the trash container and discontinues service, Sweeney told the board Tuesday.

He said neighbors complain when the containers are left by the side of the road, which triggers the notice and corrective action. The bins, he said, can also be a traffic hazard if they are knocked over or pushed into the roadway.

Some residents live a mile or two down private roads where the haulers don't go, and "don't want to have to bring the cart all that distance every week," Sweeney said. "It has to be removed a minimum of 10 feet from the vehicular right-of-way," he added, suggesting a compromise.

Jerry Ward of Solid Waste of Willits said his drivers can get to garbage containers that are left 10 or 15 feet down a private driveway, away from the road's edge.

Sweeney's proposed changes -- which he notes will affect "thousands of customers" throughout the county's unincorporated areas -- go before the board July 30 for approval.